Terrance Line Book 3: The Return
by Asuterisuku
Summary: New faces and old friends, returning to fight a threat reborn. This is the story of Aaron's search for redemption, to right the wrongs that his kind made in the past. It is recommended that you have read Timelines at least what I have done of it first.


Prologue The Boy

July 23, 2009

Aaron stood at the mouth of an alleyway somewhere in New York City. The crowd didn't notice him. Nobody ever noticed a bum, which was the entire point of the disguise. He was only here to remember. He had almost died here, three years ago. It wasn't a memory that he liked to face, but it reminded him of the shortcomings that he had needed to overcome, that he had long since overcome. He still couldn't remember exactly how he'd been saved. All he could remember past Yang's words was a woman's face. Anything beyond that was just a blur. It was also a reminder of how fragile he had been, how fragile that humanity was as a species. He had been human once. That time had long passed, and was nothing more than memories now.

He glimpsed something out of the corner of his eye, and turned down the alley to face it. What he saw was a young boy running down the crossway as fast as he could go. Curious, Aaron walked down the alley to the crossway... and came face to face with a man that he had though dead for years. But far from being dead, the Eraser named Yang was looking healthier than he ever did back at the lab. "What the hell are you doing here?" Aaron asked, his voice already starting to go gruff with the transformation into an Eraser underway.

"I was about to ask you the same question," he said, his own body changing in a similar fashion. "The last time I saw you, I was watching you kill my brother. Or at least, I thought you did. I've seen him since. He's quite well. In fact, he seems to think that you're dead."

"Well then I guess we were both wrong, because here I am," Aaron snarled back.

"Enough," the man said, reverting to more normal (read human) tones of voice, with the sickly sweet intonations of a lifelong Eraser. Yang really was impossibly handsome while he looked fully human. "I don't have time to kill you today," he said, as he turned away. "Why don't you go do something useful in the meantime, like killing your bro-" he cut off as Aaron's claw pressed to his throat.

"And what makes you so certain that it would be you killing me?" Aaron asked with a growl. He pressed the claw just deep enough to draw blood before pulling away. "The next time I see you, you will die." He then turned away, to where the kid had run. They walked off in opposite directions, both hoping to never see the other again. Aaron went slowly down the crossway until he saw what he suspected had been there: a dead end. Changing back until he looked fully human once more, he said, just loudly enough for someone to hear, "You can come out. It's safe now." Aaron saw movement behind a nearby dumpster. That was when he came out.

He was about fourteen, with shoulder length black hair and bright yellow eyes, eyes very much similar to his own. He also noticed a wound on his right arm. It looked very much like a dog's bite, but... It couldn't be. It was far too large. "Kid, what's your name?" Aaron asked, wondering how this mess could have started. Erasers didn't just chase anyone and that there were Erasers still alive... He had not even thought it possible since Itex had fallen. He hadn't been expecting an answer, and was surprised when he got one.

"L-L-Luke," he stuttered. That was fine. He had reason to be stuttering.

This calmed Aaron a little bit. He had been sure that the kid would have been frightened by seeing him turn into what would look to any normal man like a werewolf. He held out his hand saying, "pleased to meet you, Luke. I'm Aaron. Where do you live?" The boy took the hand, and gave it a quick shake, but he turned his head away when he heard the question about where he lived. Was he an orphan? "Aw, that doesn't matter. It's probably not safe there anymore, anyways. Erasers generally don't just chase people for sport. They were probably looking for you." That got the kid to look up.

"Oh God, my family. I have to go back there! I have to save them!" He took off at a run. Aaron didn't stop him, but instead followed him, to make sure he would still get time to get a closer look at that wound. It wasn't very long until they were at the building, and only a few floors to get to the apartment. The kid was surprisingly fast, but Aaron still managed to keep up. But when they got there and opened the door, it was a scene that Aaron knew all too well, and one that he had never wanted to see again. Lying on the kitchen floor were the torn up bodies of a man, a young girl, even an infant. It made Aaron want to puke, though he kept a stoic face. It was too similar to the day when he was taken. Too similar to the day he became the animal.

Poor Luke was crying over the bodies. Aaron let him cry for a while before saying, "come on. It's not safe here. "

"Give me a second," Luke said through his tears. "I want to grab something." He ran down the hall and into a door, which Aaron assumed was his bedroom. When he emerged he was carrying something that Aaron found ironic. It was a stuffed wolf, looking worn from many nights of snuggling.

"A childhood friend?" Aaron asked, raising his eyebrow. The kid ignored the jab, only saying, "Let's go."

* * *

**Okay, I know I have three stories going from the same series right now, but I'm VERY proud of this chapter. Formed with a little help from someone I met on . The new character, Luke, is an allusion to a story that we came up with together in about five minutes; I was so intrigued by his character, I found a place for him in my little world. So, Why is he wounded, and why was Yin, who you probably thought had been dead long ago, after him? You'll just have to read to find out. This chapter proves that I am NOT dead, and I still have a spark in this story to fan. R&R Please. EDIT: I messed up which character did which, and it screwed up the continuity of the story. Error fixed. Enjoy.  
**


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